Proverbial Truths
by MISSYAlexandra
Summary: When a Lieutenant is pushed overboard, Harm and Mac are sent to investigate, while being forced to share close quarters. Will the killer get to them before they can find the culprit?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: My third JAG fic! I'm very excited about writing this. However, I'm not overly educated with Naval ships, I only know what JAG and Wikipedia has taught me, so if you can correct me on anything, I won't be offended.

**0907hours  
JAG Headquarters  
Falls Church, Virginia**

"Harm, you've just got to learn to accept it! The rules clearly state that you aren't allowed to buy any countries the first time around" exclaimed Mac.

"Hey, I don't need the rules to play the stupid game, I'm a lawyer" retorted Harm.

"Yes, you're a lawyer, lawyers are supposed to play by the rules, especially the military kind" smirked Mac, who had clearly already won the argument.

Harm sighed. Sarah MacKenzie wasn't someone to let these things slip easily, rules were rules and as long as you were playing Who's The Richest with Sarah MacKenzie, you played by the rules.

"Going into the international property market already?" came Admiral Chegwidden's voice from Petty Officer Tiner's door.

"No sir" said Harm, standing at attention with Mac.

Chegwidden smirked. "In my office now, yellow plane and blue plane"

"I was the invisible plane, Harm stole them all" muttered Mac.

"What was that, MacKenzie?" asked Harm.

"Nothing" she smiled innocently.

Harm and Mac followed Chegwidden to his office, which Harm closed the door behind them, then took his place Next to Mac in front of the Admiral's desk.

"Take a seat, you two" said Chegwidden, gesturing to the two plush leather chairs behind them.

Once Harm and Mac were comfortably seated he began to speak.

"There has been an incident aboard the USS Terminal involving two Naval officers, a... Lieutenant Taylor Preston and Lieutenant Commander Angus Williams" said Chegwidden, glancing at the paper in front of him.

It was silent for a few moments, until Rabb couldn't resist the urge to ask.

"Admiral, by any chance, were they fraternising in a more than an 'Oh, I know you, we serve on the same ship together' way?" he questioned.

The Admiral snorted

"No, Rabb, they're not. However, there are two people I know that should do that" he said quietly.

"Then that's one thing crossed off the list, what exactly did they do, Sir?" asked Mac.

"Well, if Commander Rabb had allowed me to finish, I would've told you that they're the two prime suspects for pushing Lieutenant JG Emily Harwood off the ship, so we're sending you two to investigate, you'll be leaving in two hours, I sincerely hope you have your sea bags with you" said Chegwidden, informing Harm and Mac of their latest case.

Harm and Mac stood up from their chairs.

"Was there anything else, Sir?" asked Mac.

"No, dismissed" said Chegwidden.

"Aye aye, Sir" said Harm and Mac in unison and begun to make their way to the door, or as the Admiral would affectionately call it "the hatch".

"Oh, and Rabb?" called Chegwidden.

"Yes, Admiral?" asked Harm.

"Don't even think of taking Who's The Richest on board" commanded Chegwidden, not looking up from his paperwork.

"Yes, Sir" replied Harm.

He then turned to find Mac in the doorway, smiling at him, and mouthing the word 'rematch".


	2. Chapter 2

**1320hours  
On board the USS Terminal  
Somewhere in the Atlantic**

Harm and Mac stepped out of the helicopter, glad to be finally out of the air. However, they were not pleased about the rain that was currently pouring over their heads.

Moments later, they were greeted by a petite brunette, no taller than five foot three.

"I'm Ensign Jessica Hinters, welcome onboard the USS Terminal, Sir, Ma'am" she greeted in her southern accent, shaking Harm and Mac's hands.

"Pleasure to meet you, Ensign" said Mac, returning the greeting.

"Skipper requests you on the bridge, I'll show you to your quarters, you have time to change or grab something to eat from mess if you want to. Follow me" said Hinters.

**1326hours  
Harm and Mac's quarters  
USS Terminal**

Ensign Jessica Hinters unlocked the door to Harm and Mac's quarters for the duration of the investigation.  
Pushing it open, it revealed only one bed.

Harm and Mac were in shock at the sight.

"Uh, Ensign, can you explain this to us?" Questioned Harm, rather concerned about the lack of beds.

"Oh, that" said Hinters "Well, last night we had some uninvited water come in and we're still cleaning it up, one of our compromises was to have you two share the same bed, your Admiral seems confident that you can do that and keep your hands off each other" said Hinters, informing them of their current... situation.

Harm groaned internally.

"That'll be all, Ensign" he dismissed Hinters.

"This is unbelievable! Mac, you take the bed and I'll sleep on the floor" said Harm, already organising the sleeping arrangements.

"The floor? Harmon Rabb Jr., are you having one of your stupid days? Because by far, Flyboy, this has to be the silliest thing you have said all week, it's cold, it's wet and most importantly, it's the floor!" exclaimed Mac.

"Well, do you have a solution then?" questioned Harm.

"As a matter of fact, yes I do. You and I are two grown up adults who are completely in control of ourselves and are able to share the same bed without anything happening, and that's final, Flyboy" ordered Mac.

Harm held his hands up in defeat.

"Okay, you win this time, counsellor" laughed Harm.

"Good, that's settled then. Let's go find the Skipper" said Mac.

Harm and Mac both headed to the door at the same time, causing them to get stuck.

"You go" they said in unison.

Mac sighed.

"Mac, you go first" said Harm.

Mac stepped over the knee knocker separating their quarters from the rest of the ship and headed in the direction of the bridge.

**1340hours  
The bridge  
Onboard USS Terminal**

"Lieutenant Commander Rabb and Major MacKenzie reporting as ordered, sir!" announced Harm.

"Commander, Major, at ease. It's a pleasure to have you onboard the USS Terminal. If only it could be under better circumstances" sighed the skipper. "However, it's going to be great once this mess can be worked out and Harwood can be returned to her family".

"Yes, Sir, indeed it will be. Will I be able to interview the crew as soon as possible?" enquired Harm.

"Yes, Commander, I'll clear whoever you need to speak to of duty and order them to report directly to you. You can borrow my office for the interviews" offered the skipper.

"Yes, sir, thank you sir!" answered Harm.

**1400hours  
Skipper's office  
USS Terminal**

Harm and Mac's first interview were Lieutenant Taylor Preston and Lieutenant Commander Angus Williams.

They opened the door to the Skipper's office and were in shock by the sight. Angus and Taylor clinging to each other.

"Ah, are we interrupting anything?" asked Mac, surprising Taylor and Angus, which caused them to break apart from each other and stand at attention promptly.

"No, Ma'am! Just a friendly man-hug!" stoically replied Taylor.

"Very well... at ease, please, take a seat" said Harm, gesturing at the chairs on the opposite side of the desk.

Angus and Taylor took their respective seats and so did Harm and Mac.

"What happened on the night of the incident?" questioned Harm.

"I was on duty, I was going to take a breather at the fantail since I was due for a break. I was approaching the door when I heard Emily... uh... Lieutenant Harwood yelling at someone.. or something to leave her alone, that's when I opened the door, I saw her go over the side" replied Angus.

Harm took notes on his pad.

"Lieutenant Preston, what about you?" enquired Mac.

"I was behind Lieutenant Commander Williams, I was heading to the engineering room to check on a pipe repair for the skipper. The engineering room is extremely close to the fantail, so when I heard Lieutenant JG Harwood scream, I went to go check it out and found Angus.. I mean, Lieutenant Commander Williams standing over the fantail with a rope in his hands" replied Taylor.

"Lieutenant Commander Williams, is this correct?" asked Mac.

"Yes, Ma'am, it is" he replied.

"That'll be all for now, dismissed!" ordered Harm.

"Aye aye, Sir!" said Taylor and Angus in unison, standing at attention, then making their way out of the room and closing the door behind them.

"Something doesn't seem right" mused Mac.

"I'll give you that" laughed Harm.

"I'd like to see where this happened" decided Mac.

**1415hours  
Fantail  
USS Terminal**

"Damnit, this place is washed clean!" cursed Harm.

"There was a lot of rain last night, all the evidence would've been washed away" said Ensign Jessica Hinters standing at the door.

"Ensign, what a pleasant surprise" replied Mac, grinning.

"Sir, Ma'am, I don't have long, but I'm a lot of people's mules on board, so I overhear a lot of scuttlebutt and many, many, conversations, so if you have any specific questions, off the record, I'd be happy to answer them for you. I'm sorry that this is informal and fast, but I'm supposed to be on duty right now, so I have to run, catch you later!" she saluted quickly and headed to her duty station.

"Well that was... interesting"

**2057hours  
Harm and Mac's quarters  
USS Terminal**

"I think we should take Ensign Hinters' offer up on those questions, I'd like to know what's going on between Williams and Preston, that sure didn't look like a "man-hug" to me" said Harm.

"Then what's a man-hug to you?" questioned Mac.

"This is" said Harm, approaching Mac.

"Hold your right hand out like you're going to grab a glass, but grab mine instead" instructed Harm.  
"Then tighten, sort of shake it a bit, then you come closer, and with your other arm, you pat me on the back sort of... roughly, I'd say" added Harm, acting out his man-hug with Mac.

Mac winced at the contact the "man-hug" had provided.

"Watch it, Sailor, I have something you don't" complained Mac.

"Oh, sorry" said Harm, realising that he had performed a man-hug with a woman and not a man.

"Okay, so it wasn't a man-hug, but I really think there's something going on between them. It didn't appear that they really cared that we'd just walked in on them... well they could be doing something worse but they were... ya know..." Harm was beginning to fall all over his words, he was relieved that it didn't happen in court, however, it was embarrassing occurring around Sarah MacKenzie, who may use it for teasing purposes later on.

"It's okay, Harm, I get what you're trying to say" laughed Mac. "You know, it's been a long day, I'm going to go to sleep" said Mac, the reality of having to share a bed with the one and only Harmon Rabb, Jr. was only just dawning on her.

"Yeah, me too" replied Harm.

They each took their turn in the bathroom, gave approving nods at each other's sleepwear, then finally climbed into bed, teetering dangerously over the edges of the bed.

"Goodnight, Harm"

"Goodnight, Mac"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you all so much for all of your beautiful reviews, they made me laugh! :D

**0203hours  
Harm and Mac's bed  
USS Terminal**

"Mac" whispered Harm.

"Mmrrrghhh?" replied Mac groggily.

"I'm cold" complained Harm.

"Then take some blanket" she said, not feeling quite awake yet.

"But you're taking up all the room in the bed" sighed Harm.

Mac groaned, draping herself all over Harm and nuzzling her face in the crook of his neck.

"See? All warm now, Goodnight, Harmy" replied Mac, dozing back off to sleep.

Oh boy, did Harmon Rabb feel warm, but he needed a cold shower at the same time. He ignored the feelings that were coming up with this kind of close contact and tried to focus on the comfort that Mac being so close brought him. Twenty minutes later, he was sound asleep.

--

**0734hours  
Harm and Mac's quarters  
USS Terminal**

Waking up was just the cold shower that Harmon Rabb, Jr. needed. The once warm bed was cold, empty and Macless.  
He was beginning to stretch when Mac walked in, fully dressed in her uniform and towel drying her hair.

"Morning, Flyboy" she greeted him.

"Morning Mac... ohhh, do I smell pancakes?" asked Harm.

"Well, as a matter of fact, yes you do. This is the Skipper's way of apologising for having us to share a bed" replied Mac, handing Harm a plate of chocolate-chip pancakes.

"He deserves a medal for it" said Harm quietly.

"What was that?" asked Mac, clearly hearing what he just said.

"The pancakes. He deserves a medal for the pancakes" covered Harm.

"I believe he does" smirked Mac, going along with Harm. "Anyway, get dressed, get showered, we are talking to Ensign Jessica Hinters in thirty six minutes and counting" said Mac, leaning over and ripping off a piece of Harm's pancake.

"Yes Ma'am" replied Harm, jumping out of bed and heading to the bathroom.

**0810hours  
Skipper's office  
USS Terminal**

"Ensign Jessica Hinters, you came to us yesterday on the fantail, offering information concerning the incident, are you still willing to disclose this information, on the record?" questioned Harm, leaning on the table.

"Yes, Sir, I am" replied the Ensign.

"And what may this information be?" enquired Mac, leaning against the far wall with her feet crossed.

"Well... I walked in on Commander Williams and Lieutenant Preston doing..." answered Jessica, twirling her hand in a clockwise motion.

"Oh..." said Harm, his eyes widening at the thought.

"So they were having intercourse?" asked Mac.

"Yes, Ma'am, like a brush scrubbing a toilet" clarified Jessica.

"Uh, interesting analogy..." replied Mac, positively never going to be able to scrub her toilet again without thinking about this case. "Is that all?" asked Mac.

"For now" Jessica paused to think "I know where to find you, so if something comes to mind, I will" replied Jessica.

"Dismissed" said Mac, standing up.

"Aye aye, Ma'am, Sir" answered Jessica, standing at attention, then proceeding to exit the Skipper's office.

"Well that was eventful" said Mac.

"Yeah, not quite what I was hoping for, but it has motive. Hey Mac, I was thinking about..." Harm was cut off by a knock at the door.

"Enter" they barked.

The door opened and the skipper entered.

Harm and Mac, in full shock, stood at attention and simultaneously said "sorry, Sir!".

"At ease, Commander, Major, you had no idea who was on the other side of the door, what have you found so far?" enquired the skipper.

"Well, it appears that Williams and Preston were involved in a sexual, if not romantic relationship" said Harm.

"I had a feeling about those two... always very clingy around each other" snarled the skipper.

"What do you mean?" questioned Mac.

"Well they were always very reluctant to leave each other when I had assigned them to different parts of the ship, and then during breaks they would spend every second with each other, and after this incident, it's almost tragic, I can't help but feel sorry for them" sighed the skipper.

"I don't mean to seem out of line, but why?" asked Harm, confused.

"Real love like that doesn't come along often, Commander" replied the skipper, exiting the room.

--

**0942hours  
Harm and Mac's quarters  
USS Terminal**

"Harm, the autopsy report on Lieutenant JG Emily Harwood has just been faxed over" said Mac, handing Harm the report.

"Thanks. Do you know who did the autopsy?" questioned Harm.

"I believe it was Commander Elliott" replied Mac.

"Commander Elliott? As in Commander Catherine Elliott?" re-asked Harm, eyes wide.

"Uh, yeah, that's what the file says" said Mac, pointing at the name on the front of the file. "Why, you know her? Date her? Save her from falling off a building? Make cookies with her?" quizzed Mac. "I bet she's HOT!"

"Maaaaaaaaccc" groaned Harm.

"Well, well, well? Marine got your tongue? Spill the details, sailor!" ordered Mac.

"Okay, firstly, I did not date her, she was not falling off a building, and I did not make cookies or any other type of food with her. She did the autopsies back when I was still partnered with Kate, she helped close a lot of our toughest cases. And yes, she was rather attractive, but not as attractive as others" replied Harm.

"Ohh, really? Who's hotter then, Hooha?" smirked Mac.

"You." He casually replied, tapping her nose with his finger, flashing his knee-buckling flyboy smile and then exiting the room.

"Damn Rabb" huffed Mac, feeling rather embarrassed.

**1120hours  
Skipper's office  
USS Terminal**

Harm and Mac had agreed to do their own separate enquiries for two hours afterwards and were to meet up in the skipper's office for morning tea.

"What did you find?" asked Harm, taking a bite of his biscuit.

"This probably won't stand up in court, but Hinters said that Taylor Preston was having an affair with a computer engineer, Kirt Mayna, but she has no way of proving it" sighed Mac.

"I read the autopsy report, Catherine is stumped on this one" said Harm.

"It isn't that difficult, is it? We already know that Emily Harwood died from drowning" replied Mac, handing Harm a cup of coffee.

"That's what she'd thought originally too. Harwood was already dead when she was pushed into the ocean, she choked on something, which killed her, but it was removed through a neat incision through the abdomen into the stomach. Whoever did this has serious surgical training" said Harm.

"What do you think could have been used to get the piece of something she choked on out of her stomach?" asked Mac, pulling out the autopsy photos.

"It looks like one of the knives I cook with, so maybe someone in mess cut her open?" suggested Harm.

"No, the cut is to serrated, no one uses knives like that to cook with. What about navy issue boot knives? That could have easily made the cut" said Mac.

"Well that leaves everyone on this damn ship as suspects, but I do like your idea" replied Harm.

"And those knives have serial numbers" replied Mac with a twinkle in her eye.

**1245hours  
JAG Headquarters  
Falls Church, Virginia**

Bud Roberts was working on his witness list for his latest case, a Petty Officer who was claiming to have been attacked and robbed by two Navy Commanders on the street.

Suddenly, the phone rang, surprising Bud so much he jumped three feet and banged his knees on the bottom of his desk.

"Ouchhh Lieutenant Roberts speaking" he hissed into the phone.

"Uh, something wrong, Bud?" questioned Harm.

"No, not at all sir, I guess I was concentrating a little too hard and the phone gave me a bit of a fright. How's the USS Terminal? What about the major? Oh, wait, wait, wait, what can I help you with? Because I'm assuming this isn't a social call because they cost a bit" rambled Bud.

"I need you to cross reference any kind of medical training with all of the crew onboard this ship, and to see if anyone has ordered a new boot knife since the date of the murder" replied Harm.

Bud quickly jotted notes down to Harm's request.

"Okay, sir, got it. Also, Commander Elliott called earlier, she was looking into what Emily Harwood choked on, and she's fairly certain it was a board game piece, most likely Monopoly" said Bud.

**A/N: I couldn't resist doing the Catherine Elliott thing, it's such an awesome name :D**


End file.
